The aim of the site is to provide practitioners, students and managers of youth work in Wales with a range of information which will help develop thinking and practice.

The site primarily focuses on a particular style of work with young people delivered within the framework of the Youth Service, which encourages the voluntary involvement of young people aged 11-25 in a wide range of positive non-formal learning activities.

The outcomes of such activities include developing within young people a sense of personal identity, well being and place within their neighbourhood, community and wider society.

Outcomes of youth work for young people also include the development of a range of skills, their active participation and enhanced emotional competence.

youthworkwales has a small editorial board which currently includes Darrel Williams, Rachel Burton, Dr John Rose and the elibrary co-ordinator. In addition, youthworkwales is seeking to recruit a pool of Associate Editors.

The site is offered as a service to the field and access to the pages is free and open to all. The site carries no advertising, nor do any of the editorial links to other sites involve sponsorship or payment.

We welcome the following items:

Student assignments/research reports that merit a wider audience and which could contribute to the development of youth work thinking in Wales;

Versions of key publications that have been removed from websites and are no longer accessible. This will preserve them in one place;

Historical organisational documents that show the development of youth work practice in Wales;

Articles or reports written by youth work lecturers and tutors;

Articles or reports written by youth workers or produced by youth organisations.

youthworkwales, the resource base for youth workers in Wales, was established in 2008 as a partnership between the YMCA Wales Community College and University of Wales Trinity Saint David as an open and not-for-profit site. The YMCA Wales Community College merged with WEA in 2016 to form Addysg Oedolion Cymru | Adult Learning Wales.

Prior to 2008, the Wales Youth Agency Staff College issued a CD containing a range of documents of interest to youth work students. The YMCA Wales Community College took on this work when the Wales Youth Agency was taken into Welsh Government.